Drapery hook



April 27, 1965 s. PERLMUTTER DRAPERY BOOK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 OriginalFiled June 4, 1959 April 27, 1965 s. PERLMUTTER DRAPERY HOOK 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed June 4. 1959 Jamal! P zINVg. TOR.

- 3 The arms 12 are substantially parallel from the sections 19 to theloops 13.

The drapery supporting member should be formed in such a manner that thearms 12 at the contiguous section 18 are tensioned toward one another toreduce the space between the two arms 12 in this contiguous Section to adistance apart less than the diameter of the wire forming the hookelement 11, and preferably into touching relationship. The hook element11 is formed with a leg 20, bight 21 and leg 22 continuous with oneanother. The leg 20, which may also be termed a shank, is formed with acrimp 23 at its lower portion with the crimp 23 preferably in the sameplane as legs 20, 22 and bight 21.

The plane of the arms 12 in the drapery supporting member 10 and theplane of the hook element 11 are normal to one another. The hook element11and drapery supporting member 10 are interengaged by the interlock ofthe crimp 23 with the pinch 15. The crimp 23 is positioned on one sideof the pinch 15 with the lower portion of the leg 20 projectingthroughthe opening 16 and extending downwardly of the supporting member10 on the other side of the bight section 14 as indicated at 28, FIG. 2.The upper portion 26 of the leg 20 projects through the loop 17 andbears against the contiguous section 18 as indicated at 29. The upperportion 26 of the leg 20 may, if desired, be slightly inclined towardsthe drapery supporting member 10 and between the arms 12 above thecontiguous section 18 to effect a more positive engagement between theupper portion 26 and the contiguous section 18. Preferably, the upperportion 26 bears directly against both legs 12 at the contiguous section18.

The bight 21 is inclined upwardly from the leg 20. A crimp 30 is formedat the upper end of the bight 21 with this crimp 30 having sides 31 and32. The rear side 32 extends downwardly and is contiguous with the leg22. Crimp 30 is adapted to engage a slider of conventional shape andsize. These sliders are supported on traverse rods and are adapted to bemoved longitudinally of the rod for the purpose of carrying the drapesand drapery hooks.

The sides 31 and 32 engage the forward and rear portion of the sliderrespectively as indicated in my copending application Serial No.788,699. It has been found that locating the crimp 30 at the rear end ofthe bight 21 and inclining the bight is substantially advantageous overthe construction shown in my copending application. Such an arrangementcauses the drapes to hang straighter and permits shading of the sliderswithout binding of the hooks against the traverse rod.

This embodiment may be assembled by first inserting the lower portion 25of the leg 20 through the loop 16 so that hook element 11 assumes theposition illustrated at 35 in dotted outline. The hook element 11 isthen rotated counterclockwise relative to the dnapery supporting member10 to the position of final assembly. Hook element 11 is maintained inlocked position to the relative drapery supporting member 10 when theupper portion 26 of the shank or leg 20 is passed between the contiguoussections 18. As the hook element 11 is moved between the legs 12 itforces contiguous sections 18 apart. Once the hook element 11 is in theposition indicated in solid line in FIG. 2 the contiguous sections 18spring together again thereby locking the hook element 11 in place.

The simplicity of this assembly eliminates the necessity of welding andexpensive machinery and equipment for assembling the hook element anddrapery supporting member, as is necessary with other types ofconstructions. Moreover, it permits assembly by the ultimate consumer,and thereby eliminates expensive manufacturing costs. When a drape isinserted on the arms 12, the drapery pocket is forced between thecontiguous section 18 and the upper portion 26 of the leg 20, whichfurther assures a rigid interlocking arrangement between the member 10and element 11. Since the leverage distance .4 between the bight 14 andthe pinch 15 is short, a substantial torque on the hook element 11relative to the drapery supporting member 10 is possible without thecrimp passing between the arms at the pinch 15. It has been found thatthe wire of the hook element 11 will bend before the wire at the pinch15 of the drapery supporting member 10 will spread.

In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, like numerals refer tothe corresponding elements illustrated in the embodiment shown in FIGS.1 and 2. The shank or leg 20 is longer and is provided with a pair ofcrimps 23 and 40. The crimp 40 may engage pinch 15 in a manner similarto the interengagement of the crimp 23 and pinch 15. When the crimp 40is interengaged with the pinch 15, the crimp 23 is positioned betweenthe arms 12 close to their upper end. In this position drapery materialsupported on the arms 12 will be reversely folded about crimp 23 andwill thereby be more rigidly clamped.

When the crimp 23 is interengaged with the pinch 15, drapes will besupported higher than when crimp 40 is interengaged with the pinch 15.If desired, more than two crimps may be incorporated into the leg 20 sothat more than two positions of adjustment are possible. The crimpsshould be spaced apart a distance greater than the distance between thepinch 15 and upper end of the contiguous section 18 so as not tointerfere with the interlock of the two members.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 is similarto the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 where like numerals referto similar parts. In this arrangement the hook element 50 is formed witha bight 51, rear leg portion 52 and shank 53. This hook element 50 isnot provided with a crimp arrangement illustrated at 30 in FIGS. 1-4although if desired, it could be. The shank 53 is formed with a pair ofcrimps 23 and 40 similar to those previously described in connectionwith the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4. The lower end of shank 53 is bentinto a loop 54 having an opening 55 through which the bight portion 14of the drapery supporting member 10 may be inserted. This loop 54 actsas a pivot in assembling the hook element 50 and drapery supportingmember 10. The loop 54 permits the hook element 50 to be pivoted from aposition illustrated in dotted outline at 56 to the position indicatedin solid outline (FIG. 6). In the assembled arrangement the crimp 40interengages the pinch 15 while an intermediate portion of the leg 20indicated at 57 engages the contiguous section 18. The crimp 23 projectsbetween the legs 12 just above the contiguous section 18 thereby forminga positive clamping arrangement for securing drapes therebetween. Ifdesired, the crimp 23 may be interengaged with the pinch 15 in a manneras indicated previously so that the drapes may be supported in arelatively higher position. The rounded loop 54 prevents the lower endof the shank 53 from catching or tearing the drapery material.

In the arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 there is provided anadjustable hook utilizing three interengaging members. These includehook element 60, drapery supporting member 61 and an interlocking member62. The drapery supporting member 61 is formed with parallel arms 63terminating at their upper end at loops 64 similar to loop 13 in FIG. 1.The arms 63 are interconnected at their lower end in a bight section 65.The lower ends of the arms 63 immediately adjacent to the bight 65 areinclined toward one another into touching relation forming a pinch 66.An opening 67 is formed between the pinch 66 and bight 65. Immediatelyabove the pinch 66 is a loop 68 formed by an enlargement of the arms 63.The arms 63 between the upper end of the loops 68 and the loops 64 areparallel to one another and are either closely spaced, or in touchingrelation along their length. As best illustrated in FIG. 8, the draperysupporting member 61 is slightly curved at its lower end from the pinch66 to the bight 65. This curve angularly displaces n9 the opening 67from the plane of the major portion of the drapery supporting member 61.

The hook element 6t) is formed with a bight section 79, rear leg 71 andelongated shank 72. The hook element may be formed with a crimp '73 suchas is illustrated at 31) in FIG. 2 or may be formed as the bight section59 as is illustrated in FIG. 6. In the drawing, the crimp 73 isintermediate the ends of the bight section 70, similar to thearrangement shown in my copending application Serial No. 788,669. Theshank 72 is provided with a series of notches 75 spaced at selecteddistances apart from the lower end of the shank upwardly. The shank '72projects through opening 67, with the plane of the hook element onnormal to the plane of the arms 63 The book element 6b is rigidlyinterlocked with the drapery supporting member 61 by the interlockingmember 62. This interlocking member 62 is formed of a resilient fiatpiece of spring steel formed into the con figuration illustrated. Theinterlocking member is elon gated in form having a wider lower end asand narrower upper end all. The upper end 31 is formed with a closelyfitting hole through which the shank 72 slideably projects. This upperend 81 projects through the loop as and tensions the shank '72 towardsthe arms 63. An intermediate portion 83 of the member 6?. continuouswith the upper end 31 extends downwardly on the forward side of the loop67 and is arcuately formed at 34 adjacent the lower end 8t). The arcuateportion 554 is formed with an elongated slot extending longitudinallyand between substantially the points 35 and 86. The shank 72 projectsthrough this slot. The lower end 3d of the interlocking member 62 isinterengaged with the bight section 55. The shank '72 bears against theforward edge of the slot as indicated at 85. Thus the shank '72 isrigidly secured by the interlocking member 62, with the upper end of theinterlocking member 62 tensioning the shank in a forward directionagainst the restraining action of the interengagement of the shank 72 atthe pinch 6 5, and the interengagement of the shank 72 with the innersurface of the bight 65. This hook is adjustable by raising and loweringthe hook element 659 relative to the supporting member 61. The grooves75 are interengaged with the hole in the upper end 31 of the member 62.

To adjust the hook, the interlocking member 62 is disengaged at itslower end 8d from the bight 65 by pushing forwardly on the lower end.This frees the shank 72 for vertical movement. The shank is thenreengaged by returning the interlocking member to its engaging position.

This particular arrangement lends itself to automatic machines forassembly purposes. In this arrangement the hook may be assembled into alocking engagement by laying the section 83 of the interlocking member62 on a flat surface with the upper and lower ends 81 and 8h projectingupwardly. The drapery supporting member or is then laid over thisinterlocking member with the up per end 81 projecting through the loop68 and the lower end adjacent the bight 65. The shank 72 is thenthreaded through the opening in the upper end 81, the loop 67 and theslot in the lower end 88. The shank is then pressed towards the fiatsurface and the arms 63 causing the lower end 89 of the interlockingmember 62 to snap into engagement with the bight are, thereby lockingthe three elements together.

In FIG. 9 there is shown a further modification of the present inventionadapted for use with a pin-on hook. In this arrangement, a crimp 3% isformed in a bight 21 in the same manner as that illustrated in themodifications of FIGS. 1 and 2. In this arrangement the forward leg tcorresponding with leg 2% of the modification of FIG. 2, is continuouswith the bight section 91 and drapery engaging prong 92, whichterminates at its upper end in 6 a piercing point 93. This embodimentmay be used in a manner similar to conventional pin on hooks with theadded advantage of the crimp arrangement illustrated at 30.

I claim: 1. An adjustable drapery hook formed of two memers adapted tobe releasably interlocked in selected positions comprising a wire hookelement having an elongated shank, a drapery supporting member formed ofa length of wire having two substantially parallel arms having portionsthereof lying substantially in a plane and connected together at theirlower ends at a bight section and with a pinched constriction at a pointclose to said bignt section forming an opening through which said shankprojects, and an interlocking member passing through said plane andengaging said shank above said constriction and interlocking it withsaid arms.

2. An adjustable drapery hook formed of two members adapted to bereleasably interlocked in selected positions comprising a wire hookelement having an elongated shank, a drapery supporting member formed ofa length of wire having two substantially parallel arms connectedtogether at their lower ends at a bight section and with a pinchedconstriction at a point close to said bight section forming an openingthrough which said shank projects, and an interlocking member comprisinga flexible resilient member projecting between said arms above saidconstriction and engaging said shank and at its lower end engaging saidbight.

3. An adjustable drapery hook in accordance with claim 2 wherein saidinterlocking member has an upper end having a narrower Width than saidlower end engaging said bight.

4-. An adjustable drapery hook in accordance with claim 2 wherein saidbight section of said drapery supporting member is curved with respectto said arms.

5. An adjustable drapery hook formed of two members adapted to bereleasably interlocked in selected positions comprising a wire hookelement having an elongated shank, a drapery supporting member formed ofa length of wire having two substantially parallel arms connectedtogether at their lower ends at a bight section and with a pinchedconstriction at a point close to said bight section forming an openingthrough which said 'shank projects, and an interlocking membercomprising a flexible resilient fiat member having holes at its upperand lower ends, said upper end projecting between said arms above saidconstriction and engaging said shank in said upper hole, and said lowerend releasably engaging said bight section with said shank freelyprojecting through said lower hole below said constriction.

6. An adjustable drapery hook formed of two members adapted to bereleasably interlocked in selected positions comprising a wire hookelement having an elongated shank, a drapery supporting member formed ofa length of wire having two substantially parallel arms connectedtogether at their lower ends at a night section and with a pinchedconstriction at a point close to said bight section forming an openingthrough which said shank projects, and an interlocking member projectingbetween said arms and engaging said shank above said constriction andinterlocking it with said arms.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 949,642 11/69 Maass 160-348 X 2,716,793 9/Perlmutter. 2,796,928 6/57 Bernhard et a1 -348 FGREEGN PATENTS 814,6399/51 Germany.

DONLEY I. STGCKTNG, Primary Examiner.

1. AN ADJUSTABLE DRAPERY HOOK FORMED OF TWO MEMBERS ADAPTED TO BERELEASABLY INTERLOCKED IN SELECTED POSITIONS COMPRISING A WIRE HOOKELEMENT HAVING AN ELONGATED SHANK, A DRAPERY SUPPORTING MEMBER FORMED OFA LENGTH OF WIRE HAVING TWO SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL ARMS HAVING PORTIONSTHEREOF LYING SUBSTANTIALLY IN A PLANE AND CONNECTED TOGETHER AT THEIRLOWER ENDS AT A BIGHT SECTION AND WITH A PINCHED CONSTRICTION AT A POINTCLOSE TO SAID BIGHT SECTION FORMING AN OPENING THROUGH WHICH SAID SHANKPROJECTS, AND AN INTERLOCKING MEMBER PASSING THROUGH SAID PLANE ANDENGAGING SAID SHANK ABOVE SAID CONSTRICTION AND INTERLOCKING IT WITHSAID ARMS.